Last semester, a colleague invited me to do a presentation on Domestic Violence for her into to women and gender studies class. It was a good opportunity to draw on my teaching, service on the board of SafeHouse, and interest in art by survivors of domestic violence to create a presentation. Enjoy and feel free to use it if you think it will be useful. It covers some of the basics and I hope to add to it over the long run. Understanding Domestic Violence: Why You Should Care, What You Should Know and How to Help Download .pdf of presentation... continue reading »
I spoke over at the University of Michigan's Medical School to a student organization about domestic violence. I like how the presentation came out, with T-shirts and art by survivors liberally inserted with content and links. Because of the pictures, the original files are a bit large, but feel free to download, use, update. Understanding Domestic Violence: Why should medical students care, what should they know and doDownload .pdf of presentation (2MB)Download presentation as .pptx (22MB)Read on Scribd... continue reading »
Most of us have been trapped somewhere and forced to listen to music we don't like, so we have a sense that muzak can be annoying as well as the blaring and thumping of tunes from the car next to us. But music is also used in hostage and standoff situations, and it was used to help coerce detainees at Guantanamo to cooperate in revealing information. There's some info from a Washington Post article (Torture songs spur a protest most vocal) that reports on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking records on how music was used in the... continue reading »
In 1979, Texas passed an obscenity law that a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals described as "prohibit[ing] the 'promotion' and 'wholesale promotion' of 'obscene devices,' which includes selling, giving, lending, distributing, or advertising for them" (Reliable Consultants v Earle # 06-51067). A 1985 decision by a Texas court upheld the law because they found there was no constitutional right to “stimulate . . . another’s genitals with an object designed or marketed as useful primarily for that purpose.” Lest you think that this is just a Texas problem, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Kansas and Colorado have... continue reading »
While reading the Big Picture Blog's Linkfest, I saw a headline "Concert Giant Sees Cutting prices as Ticket to Success" (LA Times, 9/26/2006).Right on. (Well, maybe; it doesn't look quite as good as you keep reading) The article notes that average concert prices are now $57 per ticket, and some people feel this is causing people to attend fewer concerts or skip them all together. LiveNation, Inc CEO Rapino wants to lower prices and is battling TicketMaster to do that. But to make good on his promise, Rapino must wrest power from Ticketmaster, a near-monopoly that built its empire locking... continue reading »